"The White Ship" is a song released by the American psychedelic rock band, H. P. Lovecraft, in November 1967. The songwriting is credited to band members George Edwards, Dave Michaels, and Tony Cavallari. Acting as the opening song on the second side of their debut LP, H. P. Lovecraft, it was the album's longest track, and an edited version was also released as the band's second single. The name and theme of the song derive directly from author H. P. Lovecraft's short story, "The White Ship". Despite its failure to chart nationally, it is widely considered to be H. P. Lovecraft's most accomplished piece, and helped establish the group, who were originally from Chicago, in the West Coast music scene.

In 1967, H. P. Lovecraft spent much of their pre-recording time rehearsing intensively for several hours at a time. After a few months processing through personnel changes and rehearsal sessions, the band had both a relatively solidified line-up and personalized sound. With assistance from the band members, George Edwards, a creative force within the band, developed the haunting ambiance, and vocal harmonies featuring himself and Dave Michaels, almost total juxtapositions of one another, that made the band synonymous with the psychedelic music scene. Michaels, a classically-trained musician, was a standout for his four-octave span which blended in harmonies reminiscent of Jefferson Airplane. The band finally commenced a tour within the Chicago area and, following the replacement of rhythm guitarist Tom Skidmore with Jerry McGeorge, furthered their development of what would become future tracks recorded in studio sessions.

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